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The 5 Core Skill Areas of League of Legends.

Responding to questions below this post. I will not argue with you if you ask for advice.

Introduction: I was asked if I could make a short form version of my "Shattering the concept that ELO is a measurement of a Players skill with a Champion" thread so I did, and it's an effort to get people to read something a little less wordy. The Following is my supported analysis on playing Efficiently in League of Legends in a broader sense -- the Core elements that prepare and lead you on the path to the most Efficient gameplay for All Situations. This is not a slight against what actions are important to maintain such as "Last hitting, invading, or warding" and hopefully help constitute better understanding of the importance of these actions. Thank You!

Core Skill Areas as grouped to represent how like in Champion Design they all work together and are equitably important.

Passive: The Skill of Map Awareness

Q: The Skill to gauge an opponents power level vs your own (Also not falling behind in your farm -- your power level wont increase unless you buy the correct items to increase your power. Champion levels are not enough and I fall off quickly after level 6 for most Champions.)

W: Analyzing your Environment before properly motioning to engage in a fight. (How to properly start a team fight, how to make the environment work for you, how to not put yourself out of position, how to cut people off)

E: Global Utility vs Champion utility (There's more to the game than just attacking and defending.)

R: Actual Combat (Lane, Gank, Teamfight, and 1 v 1) [Note: Special case - 5 is considered a Core Skill area;however, it is also the least needed to be taught for becoming Efficient at playing the game. Playing a Champion and mastering the Champions kit comes naturally with practice and observation; it is easily identified by the novice as aCore Skill for being successful at the game. These principles Guide decision making on the Fields of Justice - Knowing your game is as important is as knowing your hero. If you don't know your game then you will never understand how to excel and you'll have a diluted understanding what the proverbial "being good" means. I want to Reiterate that This in no way indicates 5 is unimportant! It's just not the most important to come to understand because it so readily apparent.]

Side Note: Sometimes sitting down and pounding a way different strategies for heroes helps you grow finding the best play style for your particular personal strengths while simultaneously giving you knowledge of the rest of the game. I can't last hit to save my life (Well I can, but that's just cause I'm a cat.), because of the types of heroes I play (Casters) who don't necessarily need to rely on that ability, but I have a ridiculous sense of map awareness playing Evelynn which gives me great insight into typical player movements. The champions you play help you learn the Core Skill Area principles never forget this when reading forward. You are not one Champion your are a Summoner in charge of summoning the best Champion for battle.

1. Map Awareness- Passive

1. Imagine if you will that the entire map was revealed (iseedeadpeople), including stealth units. Ask yourself: "Why would I ever die from a gank again if this was true?" If you can not avoid being ganked for an entire game then inherently you are doing something wrong, because it stands that the only reason ganks are successful is because of the element of surprise. Eliminate the element of surprise and then there is nothing else preventing you from knowing someone is about to gank you. This can be done by taking in other sensory stimulus (auditory and visual) to determine where people are, or more importantly where they AREN'T, it's almost impossible to know the exact location of where someone is at all times, but it is more than feasible to understand where they aren't.

Ask Yourself what could be there every time you approach a bush, play a Jungler and learn Jungler movements so you can better prepare to counter their ganks. Use spawn camps as accurate time estimators for when an enemy may return to an area. Ask yourself "What would I be doing if I were that person?".

2. Ability to gauge an opponents power level vs your own- Q

2. Never start a fight you're not sure you can win, if you're saying to yourself as you read this you can never be 100% sure. You're very wrong. This game is a numbers game with practice you can learn a few tricks for checking your opponents power level without the help of a scouter. Here are a few techniques I use while I'm playing that I've since learned to do in my head but you can do on paper, but you really shouldn't....

2a. Rapid Poke test: Test your opponents resistance by poking them with whatever poke spell you have, or basic attack. If there life bar moves 1/10 with your poke, and that life amount doesn't refill in under 8 seconds it's a safe bet to assume that under the right conditions you will at least be able to damage them in a highly consistent manner, even against their resistances (Health/Health Regen/Defense) if your poke doesn't pass the test then stay away and farm until it works! If this method doesn't work for you or seems flawed remember the point being conveyed here is that you should always test your damage output before engaging

If the odds are stacked against your favor (lower on life etc), and both players have equitable damage dealing classes, then the only difference (assuming all things consistent) comes down to is a players maneuvering ability and to the ability to mitigate damage on themselves -- Summoner spells, support buffs, etc. Champion maneuvering Skill pops up here!

These are the things by design that tip the scales of a fight to avoid the deadlock or from having one hero become unbearably overpowered in every fight because of their particular skill set. Exhaust and Heal and Cleanse are perfect examples of defensive damage mitigation abilities -- while Ghost and Flash make great maneuverability advantages. (avoiding skill shots creating distance). They can be also be used as temporary life supports so use them to get away even if you know you'll be caught that extra second you're alive could be the difference of a reverse kill or not (as discussed in the upcoming section 4).

Be extra wary of tank type characters and supports. They by design are capable of mitigating damage inherently and can trick you into a false sense of secured victory (Zilean) Watch for their utility type spells and summoner spells, when palyed correctly Supports are the MOST difficult to kill, don't be tricked into focusing them first (even if they are the squishiest) if their Champion skill level is greater than you ability to overcome it! Create the correct situation for yourself before engaging.

2b. Defense Check: intentionally get hit by the enemies attack compare your own resistance opposite of 2A and make upgrades that will allow you to go in with the resistance advantage, don't just stack straight attack items. It can be in your favor to get health early if you're finding yourself in messy 2 vs 2. At the same time sacrificing defense if you can avoid the enemy players damage while increasing your attack power can help you overcome an enemy who's stacking health, but hitting weak. It's a beautiful balance really. If this method doesn't work for you or seems flawed remember the point being conveyed here is that you should always test/consider your opponents damage output before engaging

I have to mention that if you're not going to be able to 1 v 1 a hero then don't ever do it. Not every hero is suited for direct combat. (As discussed in the upcoming section 5)

As an Avid Evelynn player I can't stress how many games I've turned around by instinctively leading against the AP burst with exhaust at the start of a fight to render them useless for a window (FU ORIANA), simultaneously saving my team from being bursted down in AOE, while reciprocating with my own equally powerful burst. Massive psychological advantage.

Who you go after is just as important as who you don't go after.

Analyze the opposing teams strategy and prepare to counter!

3. Analyzing your Environment before properly motioning to engage in a fight.- W

3. This one would seem rudimentary and it's the most obvious of the ones out of the list, but I'm sure you all have scratched your heads about why someone would run along the same path as a champion they're chasing instead of trying to cut them off. Or when you're chasing someone through the jungle and instead of using their aoe's to check bushes they run face first and die almost instantly to a counter gank.

The first thing you need to be aware of when starting a fight is Everything.

These are common questions to consider before engaging in a fight.

1. What Summoner Spells do they have up?
2. When was the last time they used their ultimate?
3. Do they have escape abilities and if so how should I prepare to overcome their evasive maneuvers?
4. Where is their Jungler**?
5. What walls can be used to get away and how can I cut them off and would going the long way be better albeit seemingly the wrong decision.?
6. Where are the other enemy team members?
7. Do we have a tower to fall back on?
8. How soon until my team mates can get here and can I start the fight before they get here to bait the enemy team into chasing me to kill me at the point of their arrival?
9. Is Dragon up and can I get it?
10. Do I really need to push them now or can I have them push back to set-up a proper gank?

These are ways of assuring you aren't overextending without a backup plan or inefficiently using your hero abilities (your champions kit), that increase your chances of winning a fight or coming out 0-sum.

Remember you CAN determine what possible outcomes will occur if you start a fight. New players often yell out (how in the world did they do that) instead of just chalking it up for luck Figure it Out! and come up with a new strategy to overpower it. Urahara-san....

4. Global Utility vs Champion utility- E

4. This section is the most difficult for me to explain, but in a nut shell the concept I'm trying to convey here is that you aren't utterly without any ability to assist your teammates in some way. The simplest way may be getting off that last hit instead of just dying. Do whatever you can stay off your death for a couple seconds longer to keep someone occupied until your teammates arrive. It's a team game support doesn't fall to one person. Anyone who's low on life an imminently dead should see it as an opportunity to pull of distraction maneuvers if they're suited for it.

You can always be doing something, whether it be making it look like you're going in for an attack (athletic feign), or any number of proactive supportive activities (scouting ahead an area, pinging your allies to be aware of danger)

5. Once you can master your Environment, then Champion Skill comes into play.

This one is most spoken on, but I still see players cry OP and UP without even recognizing the counters available to them, or that certain champion combinations can be stronger than any Flavor of the month heroes slammed together on a team if played correctly. If anything I hope you keep in mind team diversity when selecting a champion.

Just because your Cass can get a penta against 1 team comp, doesn't mean she'll stand a chance against another.

Remember there are no SUPER MEGA OP OH MY GOD RAGEEEEEE heroes. They pop up, but that's why balance is a constant process. Any number of variables can make 1 hero become kryptonite to other characters, or set-up gameplay in such a way that new strategies can be viably abused to create an unintended set of advantages that make you win. These changes are made to keep the "sport" of the game fair. A caveat of non-dynamic Hero systems. The heroes don't by design change their skill sets, which would be ideal considering each new challenger would force previous heroes to improve their tactics to account for what new tactics they're using, so to make sure heroes don't become to weak or too strong changes are made to make them become functional within the system.

Remember this Part! - (Passive, Q, W, E, R)

Champion Skills Sets (a.k.a their "kit&quot are designed to be Equitable to each other. Champion design considers how well they contribute to a teams success, more than it considers how much damage an attack does, or how much a spell heals for. If you think a champion is underpowered then perhaps it's your perception of what they are supposed to do that is wrong. This game is won by team configuration not brute strength alone. Find ways to make your champions faults strengths by pairing with other heroes who combine correctly; don't just pick your favorite haphazardly and expect to WIN!

Name any hero and I will counter it for you if you are having trouble message me in game!

Side Note: All MOBA have these particular core-skill sets or derivatives of, like any sport of similar types. I could literally rewrite these rules for any MOBA they are inherent skills of the game. Remember this when considering the validity of the statements.

I remember reading this in GD. This deserves to be read by all players who want to better themselves.

Also, help me beat Mordekaiser in the mid. (I mostly mid as Xerath.)
I don't play as him (doing so will probably help me beat him), I have troubles knowing how much his shield will protect him, since it's not in his health bar, just under it. I'm afraid of poking him and wasting mana.